Congress says PM Modi's New Year 'gift' cuts rations of 81 crore poor by 50 pc

The Congress on Tuesday alleged that the Modi government has reduced the ration of the 81 crore poor people by 50 percent in the new yearThe opposition party said 81 crore Indians who were eligible for 10 kilograms of foodgrains will now get only five kilogramsThe year 2023 began with the depressing news that PM Modis Cabinet has discontinued the Pradhan Mantri Garib Anna Kalyan Yojana PMGKAY which provided an additional 5 kgs of food grains to beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act NFSA said AICC general secretary Jairam RameshHe said with this sudden reduction of rations by 50 percent the prime minister has taken this regressive decision with no consultation with state governments nor any discussion in ParliamentThe Centre had undertaken the distribution of free food grains for 28 months under PMGKAY in view of the Covid pandemic but the scheme ended in December However the Cabinet has decided that subsidised foodgrains distributed to about 8135 crore beneficiaries under NFSA will be given free in 2023Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said 5 kg of food grains per person to Priority Households PHH beneficiaries and 35 kg per household to Antyodaya Anna Yojana AAY beneficiaries poorest of the poor will be provided free of cost for the year 2023 and stressed that it showed the sensitivity of the Modi governmentBut Ramesh on Tuesday accused the Modi government of falsely trumpeting the free 5 kg of grains under the NFSA as a historic decision benefiting the poorThe main beneficiary however is the Modi government which will save over Rs 1 lakh crore and not ration card holders whose spending will increase he said in a statementAlso read Bharat Jodo Yatra Rahul gets rousing welcome from supporters gathered at Loni borderThe Congress leader alleged that now a family of five is forced to spend around Rs 750 more every month which is around Rs 9000 more every yearHe also dubbed the prime minister as a master of Uturn alleging that he opposed schemes like MGNREGA and NFSA during UPA but now takes credit for themThe Modi government was forced to provide extra rations during the COVID19 pandemic due to the deep economic distress he said and claimed a similar situation is prevailing todayEvery basic necessity is more expensive than it was at the time of the UPA government incomes of the majority of Indians have not risen and unemployment is at a record high he claimedRamesh said the iquestHunger Watchiquest survey finds that 8037 of people report some form of food insecurityIndia now ranks 107 of 121 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2022 he said The Modi government needs to be reminded that providing rations under NFSA is not a gift to the people of India but their right Ramesh saidThe Indian National Congress calls on the Modi government to use the Rs 1 lakh crore saved by discontinuing PMGKAY to strengthen the food security system in three waysFirst nearly 10 crore people who should hold ration cards are excluded because of the inordinate delay in the 2021 Census They must be included immediately he saidThe Congress leader alleged that the Centre has failed to respond to the Supreme Court order that rations should be provided to all migrant workers even if they do not hold ration cards It must immediately comply he stressedThe NFSA provides Rs 6000 per child to women as maternity entitlements However the government illegally limits this to Rs5000 for the first child only The Modi government must stop violating the NFSA immediately the former Union minister saidIn 2013 CM Modi opposed the NFSA From MGNREGA to the NFSA CM Modi opposed propeople UPA policies but PM Modi takes credit for them He truly is the UTurn Ustad Ramesh allegedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever